Page 44 - Phonebox Magazine September 2015

Brilliant blackberries
the ideal season By Jasmin Peppiatt
can make them into a tasty jam using the simple recipe below.
You will need 1.25kg blackberries, the zest and juice of 3 lemons and 1.25kg of jam sugar (with added pectin). To begin, put the berries, lemon zest and juice into a pan to cook over a low heat. Stir gently until the berries are softened. Next add the sugar (make sure it fully dissolves to prevent crystallisation) and boil the ingredients for about 7-8 minutes until the temperature has reached just over 100 degrees. Take the pan off the heat, leave for 5 minutes, stir well then pour the jam into glass jars. Cover the jam immediately with waxed discs and lids. Your jam can be stored for several months in a cool, dark cupboard – if it lasts that long!
This season is the ideal time to pick blackberries. Whether there is a blackberry bush at the bottom of your garden, or you have to travel a little further afield to a Pick- Your-Own farm, it is great fun harvesting your own berries to make into a pie or jam! There are several farms in the local area that provide Pick-Your-Own facilities. These include Peterley Manor Farm in Great Missenden, Warrington House Farm in Olney and Grove Farm in Leighton Buzzard. Most of these farms offer Pick-Your-Own until late October, but be sure to check their website or give them a call if you’re unsure. Blackberries not only make fantastic desserts and jams, but also boast a range of health benefits. This super food (or super
fruit) has one of the highest antioxidant contents in any fruit and has recently been identified as a cancer-fighter, when eaten regularly, due to its vitamin and antioxidant content.
Once you’ve picked your blackberries, you
Going gluten-free
FBy Jacob Wilkins
ad diets have certainly taken off in recent years and as the Big Olney Food Festival (better known as BOFF) approaches, what better time to explore these foody regimens?
The gluten-free diet, for many, is a lifestyle rather than a fad. It refrains people from consuming any cakes, breads, cereals, beers, ales or any other product containing wheat, barley or rye. Originally something prescribed for those with coeliac disease (a condition that causes symptoms such as nausea, bloating and diarrhoea), the diet has gradually worked its way into the hipsters’ eyeline. Its popularity, despite the fact that the gluten-free diet is specifically tailored to those whose immune systems react negatively towards the proteins in some cereals, has risen due to the somewhat misguided belief that simply stripping the gluten from one’s diet will aid in quick and sustained weight loss. Thus far, however, there is – unfortunately for some - no solid evidence that giving up gluten will help shed the pounds.
Either way, for all those coeliacs out there who rely on gluten- free food, many of whom will be undiagnosed (according to www.coeliac.org.uk ‘1 in 100 people in the UK and Europe’ has the autoimmune disease, yet ‘only about 24% of people with the condition are clinically diagnosed’), and those choosing to go gluten free for other reasons – you’ll be pleased to hear that many local eating establishments are more than able to accommodate you. Having conducted some research, the overall trend seems to be that eateries - ranging from pizza places and pubs, to Chinese, and even Eastern European, restaurants - will endeavour to adapt to your requirements. All of those contacted offered at least a few gluten free options, with the likes of The Swan Inn & Bistro (Olney), East House (Newport Pagnell), Rose and Crown (Yardley Hastings), and others, offering an almost entirely malleable menu.
The Swan Inn and Bistro stood out especially, making all of their meals fresh and on-site – thus having the ability to easily change certain ingredients in their meals and the like. I was informed that, if you notify staff of any allergies, intolerances or general dietary 44 Phonebox Magazine
requirements, they will be able to work around you (even offering a gluten-free gravy for Sunday roasts, for example). Similarly, a variety of other businesses offer concessions akin to The Swan in order to ensure their customers are happily satisfied with the meal and service they received.
Other restaurants offering gluten-free include: The Robin Hood (Clifton Reynes); Cowpers Oak (Weston Underwood); Enzo’s (Olney) – with a gluten-free night every other Monday; Café Brio (Olney) – offering gluten free pizzas; PicNic (Newport Pagnell) – stocking Goodness Me Foods’ gluten-free goodies; Tandoori Takeaway (Olney); Two Brewers (Olney); Bell and Bear (Emberton); Teapots (Olney); Old Shanghai (Olney) and Swan Revived (Newport Pagnell) - to name but a few. It’s nice to know that, even in our relatively rural community, local businesses make the effort to appeal to such a diverse customer base. So, to those who choose the gluten-free diet as a means of losing weight: even if it doesn’t work for you, you are providing the demand that allows places to sustainably stock gluten-free food. And, to those who may be suffering with the symptoms of coeliac disease: get yourself checked out!